CANCER SUPPORT THREAD 60! Here we are again... join us if you have any sort of cancer (or if you're waiting for cancer test results)

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Welcome everyone to a shiny new thread :)

It's a club nobody wants to join, but if you need us, you are more than welcome. If you're waiting to find out if you have cancer or not then pull up a chair. We hope you won't need to be here long, but we are here as long as you need us. And if you do have cancer then this is the place for you. Swear, rant, scream, laugh, cry... someone will have at least an inkling of what you're going through!

We only have one rule, which is do not Google. Though perhaps we should update that to please Google responsibly as few can resist completely!

I hope this thread will be a source of support for all who need it

Our previous thread can be found here

That sounds really tough carbuckety - such a tangle of strong emotions. I hope they work out how to mitigate some of the side effects to make the next treatments more tolerable. to you.
Congratulations on your time off from chemo fluffy - tis the season for making the most of feeling a bit human for a while! Good luck for the morning mrsrhod - hope the numbing cream does the job. Fingers crossed for flippyneck and anyone else awaiting results. How are your ulcers Rocky Balboa/ leslieknope? I'm in a bit of a mood tonight as I wasn't allowed chemo today. First time it's happened, but consultant wasn't happy with my manky hands and feet, so ordered a week's break. I know it's sensible but still a bit fed up. My only consolation was the idea that my very lovely but very proper oncologist got a picture message from the nurses containing a photo of my revolting feet by text this morning. I hope he'd already had his Shreddies ...

nicky it's such a pain when it's delayed. I'm delayed this week too, though it was my idea. Now we can be chemo buddies again next week! The mouth ulcer has finally calmed down, thanks. What's happened to your hands/feet? I did at the thought of your doctor receiving a photo! My fingers keep cracking. I handed my bus ticket to the driver the other day then noticed a big drop of blood on it

carbuckety I'm glad chemo is going OK ish I hope they can get the side effects under control. Keep asking for more antisickness meds if needed. There are lots of options to try!

mrsrhod good luck tomorrow I hope the side effects are bearable

Flippy fingers crossed for your results

Summer how are you now?

LittleGreyCat I hope the radiotherapy is going alright

Biscetti I'm glad the zopiclone helped. That is a long day. Hopefully it'll be a bit quicker in future. I was once there so late they closed the chemo unit and I had to sit in the day room of the oncology ward while it finished. Nowadays I'm usually out by 5. I hope the side effects are not too bad and yay for your friend's visit. It really helps to have nice things to look forward to.

diamond that's very positive news :)

fluffy yippee! I'm glad you're getting a break from the chemo. And happy cancerversary!

I'm waving to everyone, especially those waiting for results. It's really tough

All the best today MrsRhod

I’ve woken up far too early, and feeling achy: tiredness and aches/pains being known side effects of this drug. Not the greatest feeling in the morning, but I can take it easy for several hours after I get DC off to school (planning back to bed with hot water bottle)

Bloods yesterday, and all going as it should. I think I get CT scan results next week, must phone to check when I’ll hear.

Brilliant new Diamond! Hope we don’t ever hear from you again (for the best possible reasons of course )

Has anybody had a biopsy of lymph nodes done under local anaesthetic? Does it hurt? I’m a wimp when it comes to needles, although I’m guessing that’s something I’m going to have to get used too. I’m getting a EUA on Monday so I’m not sure why they can’t do it then instead of having to go through to hospital again on Thursday to get the biopsy

Hi purple yes I've had it done a few times, it really didn't hurt but you gat a good bruise afterwards. You can feel a punch but no pain if that makes sense. Hope it is ok for you

Euuuuurrrrrrrggggghhhh.

Well yesterday and today it has REALLY hit me. Nausea and heartburn like I'm pregnant with a 1000 hippos. Gaviscon by the gallon and feel like I have been clubbing non stop for 48 hours.

Thank you, honestly, for the warnings etc. My taste is buggered. Ribena (my fave) now doesn't taste right. Literally the only thing I can stomach is Readybrek ffs.

Off to GP later for 'script for as much Gaviscon as I can get out of them, and then youngest DD has said she's going to make me supper after school.

Thank god it is the weekend.

Love and waves to all. Brain not working enough to scroll and remember.

Oh biscetti I hope it doesn't last too long. The taste thing always sounds like a really mean side effect.

I've had my first zoladex implant and am relieved to report it was painless. The nurse froze the area with a spray and was very kind. Now a wait to see what side effects I get.

Lovely day in Yorkshire, I'm playing nursemaid to our two kittens who were spayed yesterday and are looking ridiculous with huge bald patches.

Thanks MrsRhod, that’s one less thing to worry about at least.

Oh Biscetta, that sounds awful. Hope you’re feeling better soon and I hope you have people around you to make a fuss of you

Biscetti and vampire hope you are both snuggled up somewhere comfy, watching crap tv and eating anything that doesn't taste like dirt. Glad it went ok mrsrhod and good luck for the lymph biopsy purple.
leslie - I have had an odd lumpy rash on the back of my hands and on the top of my feet that has gone dry and scaly. Accompanying that is a kind of friction burn along the side of my feet and around my heel. They think it's a sign of some accumulating toxic reaction, so wanted to give me a break from chemo for a week to see what happens. I've only been recommended some Aveeno - what do you use on your cracked hands? Hopefully we'll be back to chemo buddy Thursdays next week - hope you feel better for your break too x

Ooh that sounds nasty nicky I hope it clears up with the extra week off. I use O'Keeffe's Working Hands cream. And when they crack I use Germolene liquid plaster stuff. On my feet I use Soap and Glory Heel Genius.

mrsrhod I'm glad it was painless. Fingers crossed for the side effects I hope the kittens aren't too indignant about their baldness!

Biscetti I hope you managed to get hold of more Gaviscon! I find Rennies help. Did they give you lansoprazole or similar? Sorry about your tastebuds. I hope they return soon

iVampire I hope you feel a little better after a morning in bed good news about your blood results though

I hope everyone is having a nice Friday

Hello all.
I had my bronchoscopy on Monday. It wasn't great but at least it got done. The Dr told me that he didn't see what he would expect to see if it was cancer in my lung, but he didn't know what has caused the lesion. They are testing the cells they took away. He also told me that he could see the result of the MRI that I had last Friday. for the swelling in my pelvis. He said that the swelling was abnormal and there was evidence of bleeding at some time. He advised that I would get an appt for a biopsy.
Today I had a letter from the sarcoma team who said that the MRI was normal and the swelling is a group of blood vessels. They would scan it again in 4 months. So confusing.
I go back to the lung consultant next week so I will ask him to clarify.

Leslie I'm glad the ulcer has healed.
Sending gentle hugs to those who need it and congrats to those who have had good results

wombat I'm glad the bronchoscopy is over and done with. Fingers crossed for the results I'd be inclined to trust the sarcoma team's verdict as they're the experts, but definitely ask for clarification just in case.

Thanks Leslie

Resting was good.

But late yesterday things got out of step. I hadn’t heard about CT results, but right at the end of the day I had a call from the scanning unit to book me an MRI of my liver.

So I don’t know what they’re concerned about, only that there’s something they want to look at again. I don’t think I’ll be able to find out more until Monday. All the bloods have been fine. Don’t want to google.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you both vampire and wombat ** hopefully your results will come back as nothing to worry about

Thank you purple

Best wishes to you Vampire

Hello lovely lacies.
I hope you're all doing as well as can be
The DC are taking up all my time with squad practice and games. I'm a proper soccer mom
Mrs, I'm so glad the injection was pain free and I hope the SEs are minimal. I'm still struggling with hot flushes which do bother me, but I just try to not dwell upon it.
Waving to everyone else and glad all is well with you leslie

Good morning all!

My week has started really well, and I want to sing the praises of the lovely nurse who has just talked me through results so far.. No problem with colon (based on stool and blood samples). Nothing unexpected on CT apart from a probable cyst on liver, about which they are not worried at all at present as vast majority that look like this at this stage are benign and (according to The Liver Trust - yes I googled) might not even need treatment.

So I just need to keep my fingers crossed. But brace myself for another 2WW. It looks like I’m going in to the ‘routine’ queue for when results available. Which isn’t great for my overall stress levels, but is way better than being the patient that everything is fast-tracked for!

Great news iVampire! And liver cysts are two a penny .

Fascinating update on my toenails - I know you're all desperate to know... 4 days into antibiotic and toe has stopped hurting. I may see if I can get a shoe on later. You have no idea how much of plonker I felt this weekend - I was (obviously) the only person walking round Ambleside in The Lakes in a pair of open toe sandals, or sliders as I'm told they're called now.

I don't know whether it's the neuropathy that's killed all sensation or the drugs.

Nicky I have that wonderful red scaly patch on my hand too - it is slowly, slowly disappearing. I'm chucking everything on it - hand cream, lipsyl, sudocrem, eye cream etc etc. Feet have gone very dry too but not as bad as yours. My lip outline feels very itchy and a bit sore too but thankfully no scaly patches there.

Ah that’s great news Vampire

I’ve just got back from hospital where they’ve staged my cervical cancer at stage 2b which means rather than just taking the lot out with a hysterectomy they’re going to have to do chemo and radiation I know I should feel lucky that it still should be treatable but I was really hoping I wouldn’t need chemo and that they would be able to just cut it out

The advantage of having chemo purple is that it will nuke any cells they can't see. My friend opted to have chemo even though her cancer was 1C. Try to look at it as an additional precautionary treatment - it will be worth it for peace of mind.

I guess you’re right Twitter, it’s just the side effects I’m more worried about. I really can’t afford to take time off work so I’m hoping it’s not too bad. I’m back at the hospital next Monday to discuss what happens next

I've worked all through chemo purple though I work from home, so if I need a nap I can just go and have one and I don't have to dress up or face the M4 every day.

I haven't been sick - just felt a bit bleurgh sometimes but the anti-sickness drugs they give you work very well. I've still driven and shopped and stuff.

The hysterectomy is a different kettle of fish altogether... but mine was a huge zip line from bust to pubes, and bowel, diaphragm, liver, stomach lining, lung lining all scraped and cut. You will obviously need time off for that if you're still having one.

Oh god the hysterectomy sounds horrendous! They didn’t really go into any details about that as they were waiting to see if I’d need chemo instead. I’m starting to be glad that I’m going down the chemo route. It’s reassuring to know that I can still (hopefully) work through it and that being sick is not inevitable.

Thanks Twitter, I still haven’t really told anyone other than my husband so it’s handy being able to speak to people on here who know what it’s like and can answer questions

My debulking was about as horrendous as it gets Purple. You could very well be at the other end of the scale as your lump is localised, so they may be able to do it with a much simpler laparoscopy. Or they wait and see. The fact that you can have radiotherapy means they know exactly where the bugger is, so you may not need one at all.

someone else needs to advise here!